Listen up! Y'all are insects worth less than crap!
You got that?!
Yep.
Don't "yep" me!
Who am I, your school teacher? Hey!
Watch this! Hey! Are you watching?!
Are they gonna be okay?
Drugstore
In Another World
Today's Prescription: Part 1 Power Potion
The only responses I want to hear from y'all are "yes" and "no."
And end your sentences with "ma'am."
Question.
What is it?
Ms. Annabelle, I don't think it's very nice to call people insects or crap.
Don't talk back to your superior officer!
We'll start with ten laps around town!
Huh?
I'll be behind y'all.
If I catch up to you, I'll whack your butt with this!
Got it?!
Getting hit hurts. Why would you do that?
Doz, tell her.
Yes, ma'am.
She does it so you insects will run fast!
What?!
Woof.
You! Who said you could run now?
Woof?
I'm running around town. You said so.
First I'll give the signal, then you start running.
That's right. Maintain discipline.
"Walk in step" is the signal.
The free-spirited Noela can't handle acting as part of a group or maintaining discipline.
Kirio Drugstore
Yesterday
Reiji, could you make me a medicine that will make me stronger?
It's not good to rely on medicines to fix everything.
But there's no other way.
Hey.
I came to pick up today's potions, since I was in the area.
Ms. Annabelle... Hey, I know!
What?
Pick up the pace!
Good luck, guys!
Thank you.
Reiji, I'll do my best.
Woof?
Where are you goin'?
Hey, you! Don't break ranks!
Noela, what is it?
Woof.
Huh?
Run with us.
Nah, I'm good. I don't want to get stronger.
Just watching is boring. Run with us.
Huh?
But I was planning to take it easy and have a nap!
Jeez...
Mr. Reiji, you're running with us?
Yeah...
Reiji, let's do our best.
No, wait...
Hey, you're the only one fallin' behind!
S-Sorry!
Too slow!
Ow!
Huh? But my boys like it when I hit them.
I'm not like those perverts!
Did you say something'?
No, nothing.
I want to go home.
It's finally over...
It's not over yet! Get up!
Push-ups and sit-ups! One thousand each!
What?!
No way, no way, no way, no way!
Reiji, where are you going?
We promised we'd get stronger together.
I never made that promise!
I'm not trying to become stoic and powerful like some kind of Super S**yan!
Hey, Insect B! What are you slackin' off for?!
Insect B
Insect B.
Insect M
Insect N
Insect M, Insect N.
Insect R.
Insect R
I'm scared. Reiji keeps trying to run away.
Hey, she snitched on me!
Who said you could leave the battlefield?!
That's right! Fleein' from the enemy earns you a hundred beatings!
Nothin' beats the captain's beatings!
What a perv.
Did you say somethin'?!
Ma'am! This is an advanced tactical retreat, ma'am!
I'll be the judge of that.
But I'm on my way to develop a new medicine that aids muscle growth.
What? You can do that?
Seriously?
Yes, ma'am!
Fine, then. Insect R, get to developin' that medicine.
Yes, ma'am!
Don't you think Ms. Annabelle is being extra nice to Mr. Reiji?
Woof.
I don't think it's right
for a teacher to show special treatment to individual students.
Bringing personal feelings into the brigade disrupts discipline.
It could even lead to discord. What do you think?
Shut up!
You're not qualified to give advice to the captain!
In the first place, I don't remember givin' you permission to speak!
I don't think it's right to always talk down to others.
If you instruct people based on illogical emotional arguments,
then your mercenary band can't be very good.
Hey, Mina!
Ms. Annabelle's taking time out of her schedule for you guys.
Stop putting her on the spot.
Understood.
All right, insects! I want 500 more from each of y'all!
Huh?
I can't!
Yes, you can!
That's right. This is a typical workout for a mercenary company.
Yeah. We do this every day.
What?
Too slow! Too slow! Too slow!
Too slow! Y'all are too slow!
Kirio Drugstore
They wouldn't have to work out so much if they could increase
their muscle mass more efficiently.
What if I mix
materials together using the Energy Potion I previously brewed as a base?
Okay, it's done!
Power Potion
Power Potion.
This should allow them to build muscle easily without working out so hard.
It kind of tastes like vanilla. This'll go down easy.
Hey, I finished the medicine.
Huh?! What have you been doing?!
I'm glad I was about to get out of that.
Master! Master's back!
Noela, did you already finish your training?
Woof!
Hey, you. Why don't you join my mercenary company?
But she can't act as part of a group.
She's too free-spirited.
I'm not joining. I'd rather be with Master.
There, there.
Woof.
Oh, right. Here. This is the medicine I made.
It helps your muscles recover.
If you drink it after working out, it should strengthen your muscles more efficiently.
Huh. This'll really make it easier to build muscle?
It's not very effective for people who are already muscular.
After all, they've already got muscles.
Then it's pointless.
But beginners should see good results.
That's great.
Woof!
It's sweet. Now I'm ripped!
You won't get ripped that easily.
Huh? What?!
That worked fast!
A-Are you okay, Noela? What is it?
Master.
Huh?!
I can hear my biceps speaking.
Those don't speak!
That's something first-rate bodybuilders say!
Also, has your voice gotten deeper?!
I can hear them... I can hear them.
"Make us even bigger. Work us even harder."
N-Noela, come back!
Is something wrong with Ms. Noela?
Oh, Mina. I guess my new medicine was too effective.
Apparently she's hallucinating that her biceps are speaking to...
Did you drink it, too?!
Yes. I was thirsty, so I gratefully accepted your gift.
Ms. Noela can hear her biceps speaking?
I wonder what happened to her.
Huh?
I can hear my abs speaking to me.
You, too?! What happened to you?! Do you have any self-awareness?!
And you're not hearing anything! That's a hallucination!
I'm enraptured by these impressive muscles.
"Let's show off the fruits of your hard work."
That's what Mr. Six Pack is telling me.
Who the heck is that?!
Oh, they're marvelous.
M-Mina, come back!
Give me back the Mina I know!
Yo! Your biceps are like mountains.
Yo! Look at those abs. Is that a bar of chocolate on your stomach?
I can't do it. Nothing can come between them now.
I'll just leave Vivi alone.
Woof.
Um, Ms. Annabelle, about this Power Potion...
Woof.
Make sure you dilute it by adding a few drops to some water.
Woof.
G-Got it.
We're not drinkin' that straight.
Their muscle high lasted for about an hour,
after which their bodies finally returned to normal.
Reiji, the voices they heard must've been the muscle spirit.
Yeah, whatever.
You don't have to lose weight or get stronger.
We're a pharmacy.
If you say so, Mr. Reiji.
I agree.
Another fun day in another world without muscles, blood, or fighting.
Kirio Drugstore
Today's Prescription: Part 2 RK Gene Fluid
Master, it's about me and Noela.
Okay, what is it?
Do you suppose it's possible that Ms. Noela has no interest in me?
You're just now figuring that out?
What?! It's true?!
Yeah, of course.
But she must recognize me as an individual. After all, I'm the Demon King.
I doubt she even recognizes that.
I'm afraid I've made no progress in my relationship with Ms. Noela.
Why does it sounds like you're asking for legit relationship advice?
So, you want to develop your relationship.
Yes. Impressive as always, Master.
You're intelligent enough to infer so much from so little.
Workplace relationships are difficult no matter what world you live in.
Anyway, Master,
I'd like you to make a medicine that will make us progress past friendship.
This isn't something medicine can fix.
I'm not asking to be lovers.
Just something to make us more than friends, but not quite lovers...
Easier said than done.
Okay, fine. I wouldn't call it developing your relationship,
but I can help you speak to each other as colleagues.
Master!
Despite everything you say, you always help me!
Give me a minute.
That said, I don't have a plan.
Hey, Noela. You always stay home on days Ejil comes to the store, right?
Woof? What about it?
Do you dislike Ejil?
I don't dislike Ejil.
Really? That's surprising.
I have an instinctive aversion to Ejil.
Hah!
[Sad News] Instinctive Aversion
Sad news: Instinctive Aversion.
An aversion is different from disliking someone.
Woof.
But what exactly does it mean to have an instinctive aversion to someone?
Well, an aversion to their appearance, behavior, expressions, smell, hygiene,
and manner of speech is probably what you'd call an instinctive aversion.
Woof.
In other words, you dislike everything about him.
What do you find distasteful, specifically?
The way he laughs. His overconfidence.
Well, he is the top demon.
And he fawns on me. I hate that.
That's because you're so cold to him.
Also, his smell. He smells different from you.
His smell? Is it because he's a demon?
I can't tell at all, but you can?
I like your smell. I don't like Ejil's smell.
A person's smell is important.
Huh... His smell, huh?
Daughters often instinctively dislike their father's smell.
That was true in Ms. Elaine's case.
Oh, yeah. They say that's got something to do with pheromones.
Okay, I'll give it a shot.
What smells a person likes or dislikes is determined on a genetic level.
So I should make something that includes genes that smell
pleasant to Noela—in other words, my genes.
Okay, it's done!
RK Gene Fluid
RK Gene Fluid. A potable fluid containing RK's genes.
If you sprinkle this over your food and eat it, my genes should enter your body.
Like your genes, your body odor is related to what you eat, so it's perfect.
In other words, I should drink all of this medicine.
No!
Huh?
Listen, drinking all of it at once would have no effect.
You want to eat food with this on it
and slowly swap out the cells in your body.
Slowly?
After a week, your body odor should be pleasant to Noela.
Woof.
I-Impressive, Master!
Woof.
H-How can I thank you?
Don't worry about it. It's the manager's job to maintain a pleasant work environment.
I'll serve you forever, Master!
Okay, okay, I get it.
Woof?
Kirio Drugstore
1 Week Later
Master, I finished all the medicine!
All right. Then let's perform an experiment.
An experiment?
It's time for the first "Which One Is Mr. Reiji? Smell and Guess" event!
Mina, what are you doing?
What happened to you, woman?
Mina, there's no need to get so excited.
I-In that case, you should've said so!
N-Now I look like a crazy person who got too excited!
That's exactly what you are. You were totally ecstatic.
Master, what are we doing?
We're playing a game in which you try to guess which one is me
based on smell alone out of me, Ejil, and a tomato covered in my new medicine.
Woof. I won't get your smell wrong, Master.
Okay, Noela. You're going to be blindfolded.
Here's your blindfold.
Woof.
Out of A, B, and C, please guess which one is Mr. Reiji.
Well, Ms. Noela?
Woof?
Wow. Noela was so confident, but she's hesitating.
In other words, when we're talking about smell, Ejil and I aren't that different.
Ms. Noela, have you figured out which one is Mr. Reiji?
C? B? Woof...
I got it!
Then please declare your answer.
Master is C!
I got it right! Praise me, Master! Lots of praise!
Okay, okay.
But you did hesitate, Ms. Noela.
Woof.
I'm impressed you figured it out in the end.
I wasn't sure if it was B or C.
But B was panting.
I knew right away that it was Ejil.
Panting?
When I saw Ms. Noela fervently smelling me, I couldn't help myself.
So you're just a pervert!
However, the medicine you made is the real deal.
If I pour that over myself every day, then Ms. Noela will smell me every day!
Ejil, that's your problem.
Come, Ms. Noela.
Right now I smell just like our master.
Woof.
I don't like Ejil.
Listen, Noela. Ejil says he wants to get along with you.
You both work at the same store. Don't you think it'd be better if you got along?
In that case, fine.
Then shake hands and make up.
Ms. Noela...
This must be tsundere behavior.
Woof.
Ejil, that's exactly why she doesn't like you.
Despite everything, Noela and Ejil started getting along a little better.
Closing Time
Kirio Drugstore.
Thank you...
...for visiting...
...again today.
Woof.
Next Customer
I don't get it!
Illustration by: sara